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g-24 calls for easier access to industrialized world markets
tehran, april 28, irna -- governor of the central bank of iran, mohsen nourbakhsh, attended the ministerial meeting of g-24 of the international monetary fund (imf), held in washington on sunday. finance ministers and bank governors of 24 developing coutries of the imf demanded adoption of apropriate policies allowing the developing countries find access to markets of industrial countries. the g-24 members, eight representatives from each asia, africa and latin america, also stressed that unilateral measures restricting trade which are either promoted by political reasons or environmental considerations, are contrary to rules and regulations of the world trade organization (wto). as for the debt burden of developing countries, the ministers urged the world bank and the imf to set flexible terms to ease and settle the financial problems of these countries. nourbakhsh heading an economic delegation arrived in washington on friday to attend the spring sessin of the imf and the world bank.
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g-24 calls for easier access to industrialized world markets
tehran, april 28, irna -- a morning daily here monday said that the 10-member economic cooperation organization (eco) has the potentials to be transformed into a power bloc in near future. ''even though some members would like to keep the organization non-political, the economic cooperation among the members will inevitably lead to political cooperation because the members will definitely realize that they have a common destiny and that they have to cooperate politically as well,'' wrote 'tehran times' in its editorial. it stressed that such regional cooperation will not please the arrogant powers since they know regional cooperation will lessen their influence and will weaken their ability to blackmail smaller nations. through the active cooperation of its members, the organization will no doubt succeed in implementing its plans and programs for the region in the near future in different areas of economy, commerce, energy and laying pipelines for conveying oil and gas, it added. ''consequently, eco will attain its real status in the international arena as a dynamic and competent regional organization, serving as a model of successful regional cooperation and development for other countries,'' the article further remarked. it concluded by sayiong that such regional cooperation can best work as a strong bulwark against political bullying and economic hegemony of some powerful countries that are currently trying to monopolize the world's economy and expand their sphere of political influence in the post-cold war era
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eu ambassadors 'to return to tehran this week'
london, april 28, irna -- the european union is due to send back their ambassadors to tehran after recalling them for consultation following the extraordinary ruling by a german court earlier this month, according to diplomatic sources. the decision to allow the envoys to return this week is to be made at tuesday's eu foreign ministers meeting in luxembourg, which at most is expected to agree a largely symbolic response to save face over bonn's politically-motivated verdict. diplomatic editor of the guardian, ian black, said that the eu, which has a widening trade deficit with iran, was ''bitterly divided over how far to go'' and suggested that a package of measures could include a formal arms embargo and a ban on high-level visits. ''diplomats predict problems in agreeing even the limited measures under discussions,'' he said. an effective arms embargo has already been in place for several years and some member states oppose stricter visa controls, he pointed out. the uk foreign office, which has been calling for firm action, said last friday that there was still a ''lot to play for'' and were hoping for a ''tough response,'' claiming that the german court ''proved iran's involvement'' in so-called international terrorism. but black said that british officials were now defending the return of ambassadors by saying their withdrawal was ''never intended to be a punitive measure.'' although the official line is that the envoys will monitor iran's respect for tougher european expectations, the uk was said to admit privately ''an early coordinated move is better than the disunity that would be displayed if envoys went back one by one
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president rafsanjani awarded honorary ph.d.
tehran, april 28, irna -- tehran university on monday awarded an honorary ph.d. in political science to president akbar hashemi rafsanjani for his meritorious services during his two terms in office as president of the islamic republic of iran. this is the fifth honorary doctoral degree to be awarded by tehran university to prominent political and scientific figures of the world since 1959. jawaharlal nehru of india and president nelson mandela of south africa are among recipients of the honorary ph.d. from tehran university.
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rare persian book covers stolen from british museum
london, apr. 28, irna -- the british museum has rejected charges of lax security after rare persian book covers and a 17th-century japanese chest were revealed to have been stolen. the safavid book covers stolen honor persian kings who introduced shia islam to iran in the 16th century. according to the guardian, they are believed to have been moved from an unguarded shelf, but it was still not clear if it was a break-in or an inside job. the thefts were disclosed in the latest report prepared for parliament which shows that in 1995-96 more than pnds 200,000 (dlrs 325,000) were stolen from the british museum during the year. the museum has installed closed-circuit television, an alarm system and sophisticated storage cases in which objects are locked, but a report last winter suggested pnds 2 million was still needed to be spent on upgrading security in its 50 km of corridors.
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afghan fm hails iran's peace efforts
tehran, april 28, irna -- afghan foreign minister abdulrahim ghafourzi in a meeting with foreign minister ali-akbar velayati here on monday hailed iran's peace initiatives and efforts to end current clashes in aghanistan. ghafourzi, who is here to attend the seventh ministerial meeting of the economic cooperation organization (eco), briefed velayati on the latest developments in his country and called on iran to continue with its humanitarian efforts and assistance to the oppressed afghan citizens. condemning foreign interventions in afghanistan's internal affairs, ghafourzi outlined blatant violations of human rights by the taliban. velayati for his part underlined just settlement of afghan crisis and establishment of peace and stability in that country. he considered removal of disputes and unity of all afghan groups as the key to the restoration of peace in afghanistan. iran is ready to continue with its peace efforts as before with an aim of settling afghan crisis in an honorable and fair manner.
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iran to take part in japan's winter olympic games
tehran, april 28, irna -- two iranian skiers are to participate in japan's winter olympic games to be held in the city of nagano in 1998, head of iran's skiing federation issa saveh shemshaki said here on monday. the organizers of the games have annonced that some 500 top skiers from throughout the world can participate in the games and other countires can have each two representatives to the tournament. the winter olympic games will be held in the japanese city of nagao in february 1998.
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leader: hajj, manifestation of divine support for islamic republic
tehran, april 28, irna -- the leader of the islamic revolution, ayatollah seyed ali khamenei said here on monday that hajj pilgrimage is the manifestation of the divine support for the islamic republic of iran. in a meeting with head of iranian hajj pilgrims hojatoleslam mohammad mohammadi reyshahri and other officials in charge of hajj pilgrimage, the supreme leader said every year during the hajj season, numerous iranian pilgrims leave the coutry for holy mecca and an atmosphere of dignity prevails in the country. ''despite the fact that islam and shi'ite school of thought have always been subject to hostile pressures and given the ongoing offensives launched against the islamic republic by its enemies, the almighty god has strengthened the islamic system and helped it overcome all obstacles,'' ayatollah khamenei pointed out. ''any event that takes place in the history of the islamic republic of iran ends up with display of its righteousness, so that any incident should be regarded as a divine blessing,'' the leader said. in the meantime, the leader appreciated iranian pilgrims for holding the ''disavowal of unbelievers'' ceremony during this year's hajj pilgrimage.
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sudan seeks iran's assistance in foodstuff industry
tehran, april 28, irna -- sudanese minister of agriculture and natural resources nafea' ali-nafea' here on sunday called for iran's assistance in the foodstuff industry for production of such items as fruit concentrate, jam, pickles and tomato sauce. the sudanese official, in his meeting with the deputy head for agriculture and foodstuff of the foundation for the oppressed and disabled, mohammad bidabadi, took note of iran's advanced technology and expertise in the area of horticulture and fruit products, and asked for transfer of experience in this regard. bidabadi hailed the promotion of economic cooperation between the two countries and said that cultural commonalities warrant upgrading of tehran-khartoum cooperation. bidabadi also called for exchange of expert delegations and study of ways for further expansion of irano-sudanese cooperation.
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drug distribution racket busted in lorestan
khorramabad (lorestan), april 28, irna -- some 170 kg of opium were seized from a gang processing and distributing narcotics in this southwestern iranian provincial capital, said a senior official of the public relations department of lorestan here on sunday. he added that the gang depended on its supply of narcotics on an afghan in the southeatern iranian city of zahedan. the public relations official pointed that all gang members included two main elements were arrested and handed over to the judicial authorities.
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eco experts meet in tehran ahead of ministerial meeting
tehran, april 27, irna -- senior experts from member states of the economic cooperation organization (eco) met in tehran sunday ahead of the seventh eco foreign ministerial meeting. the experts are to prepare a draft document that will be approved by eco foreign ministers during their forthcoming meeting in tehran to open here tuesday. in his opening speach, iran's minister for foreign affairs, ali akbar velayati, said that the important issues to be brought up and tdiscussed at the meeting will bolster cooperation among eco member countries. he expressed hope that the outcome of the gathering would help eco achieve its objectives. highlighting the need for implementation of formerly approved programs, velayati said that the organization should be directed towards adopting general agreements in different fields needed by the region. he added that given optential facilities and capabilities of the region, the trade level among eco member states is not satisfactory compared to their trade with other countries. to upgrade the trade level among eco members, said velayati, it is necessary to recognize the obstacles hindering expansion of trade in the region, find ways of removing those obstacles, revise preferential tariff arrangements and review tariff and non-tariff barriers. the decisions to be taken by the eco foreign minister in their tehran meeting will be raised for discussion during an eco summit meet to be held in ashkhabad, on may 13.
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velayati: iran has not limited its relations to certain states
tehran, april 27, irna -- foreign minister ali akbar velayati said here on sunday that the islamic republic of iran has diplomatic relations with about 140 states and has not limited its diplomatic links to certain countries. speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the expert level meeting of the economic cooperation organization (eco), velayati referred to the european union's upcoming meeting and said, ''our relations with europe are based on mutual respect.'' he added ''we will deal with the eu approval (concerning iran) with prudence and wisdom as the dignity and expediency of our system demand.'' asked by german press agency (dpa) on iran's expectations from the upcoming eu meeting, velayati said, ''we do not have any expectations from them. they are entitled to make decision on their own and we will announce our stand toward their decision later on.'' in response to a question on what iran would do if the eu called for economic sanctions against iran, velayati said the eu had already boycotted iranian crude oil, but didn't iran sell its oil at that time?'' responding to a question why iranian ministries are rejecting the proformas of german companies, velayati said the iranian ministries adopt their policies by taking into account the general principles of the system. asked whether iran would adopt strong position towards mykonos court ruling, velayati replied that the islamic republic of iran has already taken appropriate measures in this respect. for instance, he said, iran sent copies of a legal text in protest at the berlin court ruling to foreign ministers of world countries, that president akbar hashemi rafsanjani outlined his government's position towards the verdict, that the parliament took a strong position in condemnation of the ruling and that the judiciary began to investigate the complaints of the victims of the germany-supplied chemical agents used by iraq during its 1980-88 war on iran. velayati added, ''we have experienced much more serious hostility from the u.s., israel and iraq in the past and our brave nation has neutralized all of them. there is nothing to worry about, our people are present on scene.'
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conference to survey dimensions of israeli war on lebanon opens
tehran, april 27, irna -- a conference to survey dimensions of israeli war on lebanon was held sunday with participation of families lebanese martyrs and visiting secretary general of lebanon's hizbollah movement seyed hassan nasrollah. addressing the audience, foreign minister ali-akbar velayati outlined iran's stance towards situation in lebanon and the measures adopted to end the april 1996 war. velayati said that the agreement reached between the belligerent parties on april 26 was the result of a joint effort made by iran and some other regional and international bodies. backed by the u.s., israel launched a full-scale assault on lebanon from air, sea and ground in april 1996. more than 160 people were martyred, over 300 others wounded and 400,000 rendered homeless as a result of the 16-day israeli offensive. however, hizbollah forces managed to put an end to the war. velayati said that iran's diplomatic moves which were in coordination with syria and lebanon and continued resistance of lebanese muslim forces served as a turning point in the regional role of the islamic republic of iran. this indicates iran's might and ability to influence events taking place in the region, he said, adding that the "constructive and effective" role of iran in settling the crisis was confirmed by the international community. referring to the outcome of the april war which is referred to by political circles as israel's 8th direct confrontation with the arabs, velayati said that the conflict led to formation of a national unity in lebanon, disproving the idea of the invincibility of israeli war machine and acknowledgement of the international community to the legitimacy of islamic resistance. also speaking at the conference, nasrollah said that the aim of the zionist regime in launching the april aggression was to wipe out hizbollah, destroy lebanon from within and restore civil war to that country. he said that the sharm ul-sheikh conference, which was held in cairo in early 1996 had paved the way for israeli aggression against lebanon. although devastating a country is in contravention of international law, the sharm ul-sheikh conference provided an opportunity for the zionist regime to do so in lebanon, he said. he added that participants in the sharm ul-sheikh meeting called palestinian and lebanese combatants fighting to liberate their lands "terrorists" and put the islamic republic of iran, which supported those combantats, atop the list of countries which they alleged support terrorism. nasrollah said that popular resistance and national unity in lebanon and the support voiced by iran and syria were among the reasons for the success of the lebanese hizbollah in the war. he added that lebanese hizbollah would continue with their resistance under the guidelines of the leader of islamic revolution. meanwhile, deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs mohammad javad zarif dwelt on the massacre of lebanese people by israel, saying that israel confident of arabs' support, explicitly announced that the goals behind its aggression was to intimidate and terrorize people. zarif said that israel and its allies in the security council tried to offer a new interpretation of the security council resolution 425 conditioning withdrawal of israeli forces from southern lebanon to a series of arrangements which were not consistent with either the spirit of the resolution or the situation in lebanon and the region. he cited blatant violations of the international law by israel, its expansionist policies and assault on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the independent member states of the united nations, the war crimes being perpetrated by it and sponsoring state terrorism as the behavorial features of the zionist regime.
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top asian cyclists to compete in tehran
tehran, april 27, irna -- top asian pedalists of the fifth competition for the youth and the 18th cycling contests for adults are to race in tehran from june 14 though june 20, it was announced here on sunday. secretary of iran's cycling federation, manuchehr roshanpur said that 15 asian countries have already announced their readiness to attend the competitions. so far, he said, three international cycling tours are scheduled by the international cycling federation to be held in iran's mazandaran, kerman and azarbaijan provinces in april and later this year.
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Iran, france hold 1st joint veterinary session
tehran, april 27, irna -- the irano-france joint veterinary conference was inaugurated here on sunday. head of iran's veterinary organization abbas-ali motallebi said at the two-day conference that the goal behind the gathering was to share experiences in the areas of animal diseases, veterinary medicines, animal health and feed. motallebi said that nine iranian vets would be dispatched to france next month to undergo necessary training on control of animal feed hygine, slaughter houses, and quality control of veterinary medicines and biological substances. he added that 15 different sessions would also be held to have case studies on different veterinary subjects.
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irna chief elected first chairman of eco news agencies
tehran, april 27, irna -- the managing-directors of the economic cooperation organization's (eco) news agencies (econa) on sunday unanimously elected chief of the islamic republic news agency, fereydoun verdinejad as the chairman and the director of international department of irna mohammad khoddadi as the secretary-general of the econa. managing-director of associated press of pakistan (app) mohammad aftab and managing-director of anatolian news agency karim kar ismael oglu were elected as deputies for planning and technical departments of the econa respectively. the econa managing-directors approved the charter of the organization in their two-day meeting in tehran that ended today. the econa will hold its next meeting in turkey next month to study optimal utilization of its technical network. the organization planned to exchange economic news among the member news agencies and will launch training courses to promote the their efficiency. the managing-directors of news agencies of pakistan, turkey, afghanistan, kazakhstan, turkmenistan, azerbaijan republic, tajikistan and iran held the meeting sponsored by the tehran-based eco secretariat.
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cabinet holds session
tehran, april 27, irna -- cabinet ministers in their session here today ratified a bill on trilateral transit agreement between iran, india and turkmenistan. the meeting chaired by president hojjatoleslam akbar hashemi rafsanjani also approved a bill of cooperation agreement in cultural, scientific and educational sectors between the governments of iran and estonia. v important events at home and abroad were also reviewed at the session.
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tajikistan calls for iran's contribution to development projects
tehran, april 27, irna -- tajik deputy premier khalis teimurjan in a meeting with foreign minister ali-akbar velayati here on sunday underlined the need for iran's contribution to developments projects in his country. teimurjan said his government was interested in expanding tehran-dushanbe relations and that the maintenance of friendly and wide scale relations between the two countries is important for peace and stability in the region. velayati said in response that iran is interested in having constructive cooperation with tajikistan. he called as "effective and important" expansion of relations between tehran and dushanbe since bilateral ties would help the two sides identify each other's potentials in order to speed up mutual cooperation.
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promotion of iran-tajikistan relations discussed
tehran, april 27, irna -- deputy tajik premier khalis teimurjan in a meeting with the iranian minister of commerce yahya al-e eshaq here today, took note of the excellent relations between the two countries and said implementation of bilateral agreements further would give an impetus to cooperation in the trade and commerce sector. he said there were good prospects for iranian goods in the tajik market and the tajik government was ready to exempt iranian goods from tax and customs duty. tajik minister of foreign economic relations, ghafarov, who was also present at the meeting, said the volume of trade exchanges between the two countries stands at dlrs. 11 mn, and that tajikistan was interested in purchase of more iranian goods. in return said, ghafarov, his country was looking forward to export of its goods to international markets via iran's persian gulf ports. he said the iranian trade centre in dushanbe will soon become operational. al-e eshaq in response, said the dlrs. 10 million grant by the islamic republic of iran is aimed at upgrading the two countries' trade exchanges. he added that the two countries' cooperation in transportation and banking sectors would be reviewed before president rafsanjani's visit to tajikistan. al-e eshaq also referred to iran-tajikistan cooperation within the framework of the 10-nation economic cooperation organization (eco) and said the islamic republic was ready to export goods such as cooking oil, flour and rice to tajikistan.